LONDON - Premier British intelligence agency, MI6 chief, has been told that Saudi Arabia will permit Israel to fly over the kingdom to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites.

The MI6 chief discussed the issue in London with Mossad chief Meir Dagan and Saudi officials after British intelligence officers helped to uncover the plant, in the side of a mountain near the ancient city of Qom.

Both Tel Aviv and Riyadh see the site as a major threat. Details of the talks emerged after John Bolton, America’s former UN ambassador, told a meeting of intelligence analysts that “Riyadh certainly approves” of Israel’s use of Saudi airspace.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband acknowledged that the danger of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East was “particularly potent” and refused to rule out military action altogether, but he insisted: “We are 100 per cent focused on a diplomatic solution.”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have warned Iran’s leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he must allow in weapons inspectors or face more sanctions.

The scene is set for a showdown next Thursday when Iranian officials meet representatives of the E3+3 group of Britain, France, Germany, the US, Russia and China in Geneva, The Daily Express reports.

Significantly, Russia, which has previously resisted pressure for sanctions, said it also found the latest disclosures disturbing.

British, US and French intelligence agencies detected the site near Qom three years ago.

Diplomatic sources said it could hold 3,000 centrifuges, capable of making enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb each year. (ANI)